Abdullahi M. Gulloma
“Put on your dancing shoes. Yoruba Obas in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) visited me at the State House on Tuesday, October 25, 2016. They brought along a precious gift, the Yoruba talking drum, called Gangan. Those adept at beating the talking drum are called Ayan. And who says a new Ayan is not here. Please, put on your dancing shoes.”
When I read the above message posted by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, on his Facebook page, my mind went to that article written by his predecessor, Mr. Reuben Abati, saying there is some form of witchcraft which causes occupants of the Presidential Villa to take weird decisions.
Those who did not have such misfortune, Abati said, had one ailment or the other that they had to nurse, ranging from cancer to brain and prostate surgery. “The Villa was a hospital full of agonising patients,” he added.
But in a response to Abati’s piece tilted, “The Unspiritual Side of Aso Villa,” Adesina disagreed with the issues raised in Abati’s piece, saying “what Abati did in the October 14 piece was simply a glorification and deification of superstition, something that attempted to elevate works of darkness above the powers of God.”
It is known in some places that demons, witches and wizards dislike sound of drums, especially drums beaten by those adept at beating the talking drum.
For the recipient of the gift and those close to him, at least, in this era of demons in the villa, the sound of drum is likely to chase demons away from their quarters. Thus, for Adesina who described himself as an Ayan, here comes the opportunity to not only exhibit his drumming skill, but to also drum and sound the demons out of the Villa.
With hindsight, same talking drum should have been gifted Reuben Abati to stave off the many misfortunes that occurred during his stay in the Villa.
